The sailors, who claimed victory with a day to spare in the 49er high-performance Skiff class, said the two-for-one meals at the Swan pub in St Thomas Street seemed to bring them luck.

Helm Outteridge, who finished fifth at the last Games in Beijing, said he had enjoyed his stay in Weymouth and Portland over the past three years to train for
the big event.

He said: “It’s been great.

“I’ve been here a lot since 2009 – once in 2009 and twice every year since.

“We spend a lot of time going into the Swan pub, we feel like we’re at home here.”

Outteridge, who was born in Waratah, said the Cove Inn, Chiswell was the Aussie’s team base but the Weymouth Wetherspoons seemed to have brought them good fortune.

He said: “The Cove is the Aussie team house but we like to eat at the Swan. Every time we haven’t eaten there we haven’t really done too well and when we eat there we seem to have great days.”

Crew Jensen, whose nickname is Goobs, said he liked to buy the two for £10 meals and eat both himself.

The Australian duo said when their teammate Tom Slingsby won Australia’s first gold medal in the Laser dinghy class on Monday the team partied through the night on Portland.

Celebrations continued when the 49er team achieved the gold spot ahead of yesterday’s double-point medal race.

Outteridge not only celebrated his first Olympic medal yesterday on the top of the Pavilion, but also marked a remarkable recovery from a tragic accident that at one point looked set to destroy his
career.

In January 2005, the Australian sailing star broke his back in a car accident after falling asleep at the wheel and colliding with a tree.

He spent a month in hospital, another three months in a back brace and feared he might never be able to walk again.

His recovery was a success – and he missed only eight months of sailing.

Outteridge said the accident enabled him to think about his future. He said all his family and friends who had supported him had gathered at the Nothe to watch him win gold.

Comments

annotator1
10:27am Thu 9 Aug 12

Nice one!

Nice one!annotator1

Nice one!

Score: 0

Crabber
3:40pm Thu 9 Aug 12

Amazing Story, they must have been on their own as the rest of the Aussie Team have been packing the Cove House Inn on Portland to the Rafters almost every night and also during the days when not competing.

Amazing Story, they must have been on their own as the rest of the Aussie Team have been packing the Cove House Inn on Portland to the Rafters almost every night and also during the days when not competing.Crabber

Amazing Story, they must have been on their own as the rest of the Aussie Team have been packing the Cove House Inn on Portland to the Rafters almost every night and also during the days when not competing.

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